About XeroBank

I am currently testing XeroBank: I have subscribed to the 1$ month and I think I'll give it a try even next month, for a 35$ month.
Browsing this forum, I came across this old post.

Here Steve says that Xerobank, unlike other VPN providers, "is a multi-hop network, running openvpn for client, you get vpn, email, and shortly you'll get storage, and a little later this year you'll get anonymous voip, anonymous telephone, and xerobank for your PDA".

At the moment, I do get VPN and email, but I am missing storage (file vault is still under development...? Not even a beta version available?), anonymous VOIP, anonymous telephone and support for my PDA.

When are these services going to be available? I am doing research on Xerobank and I am considering it as THE anonymous VPN provider, but I would like to see those services made true.

The issue is using the storage mechanisms interaction with xB Machine. We want it to use the storage as a remote profile for the anonymous OS. Having trouble fabricating some of the code needed. I'll make a suggestion to push storage out the door for everyone.

I was wondering about the shadow vpn service that you are planning. I have a friend who says the $35 a month is out of reach and I told him I would check on the other service I remember reading about. Is that still a go or has that project been put off awhile? If it's still in the works, how would it differ from the current Xerobank Personal plan? Also, he asked me about Megaproxy and after checking it out I discovered it's just an SSL https proxy where you sign-in on their website and go from there. It may be ok for simple privacy, but could you give me some more detail as to why these aren't such great ideas? I'm excited when I see others interested in privacy and I'd like to help him out.

(Like Columbo) Just one more thing: what about the hardware device? When will it be available for personal use and is there a price set for that yet?

If it's still in the works, how would it differ from the current Xerobank Personal plan?

Single-hop, mixed with xerobank traffic for crowding and increased anonymity. Fast fast fast fast. Full VPN, no email/storage/advanced support . Fully prepaid per year, not monthly. ~$10/m i'm told. No $1 demo. XB users get access to all Xero Networks exit nodes, including ShadowVPN and the secret ones we haven't named yet. But I'll tell you where they are: Netherlands, USA, China, Germany, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Ireland, UK, Switzerland. You can purchase one individually, or get access to all the exit nodes, anonymous mail, higher throughput, via a xerobank account.

Also, he asked me about Megaproxy and after checking it out I discovered it's just an SSL https proxy where you sign-in on their website and go from there. It may be ok for simple privacy, but could you give me some more detail as to why these aren't such great ideas?

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Depends on your "threat model", which is just a long winded document that describes who you are trying to protect yourself against. Something like Megaproxy would be only good for very minor web surfing, and you can't run any java, javascript, or flash. It would be low anonymity, privacy only, and MegaProxy will log all your traffic and watch where you go and what you do. Their web proxy technology is easily defeated by anyone who wants to unmask your true IP address. That kind of thing is good only for trying to visit websites your IP has been banned from, but only to find out everyone knows megaproxy's IPs and has already banned it. So, the thing to do is think about who your threats are, and then you can decide who you need to go with. Megaproxy does one thing only: keeps your ISP from generally seeing what websites you visit, but does not stop any determined ISP, or any hackers/identity attackers, or gov spying. If you only need to visit banned websites for reading anonymously (no posting), it should be fine.

I'm excited when I see others interested in privacy and I'd like to help him out.

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Me too.

(Like Columbo) Just one more thing: what about the hardware device? When will it be available for personal use and is there a price set for that yet?

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We have/had them fully developed, and then our hardware manufacturer changed motherboards so we are having to redesign a bit. The good news is that means instead of just hardwired access to a network, you can now use wireless or bluetooth connections to XeroBank via the hardware. Should be ready soon, we have a new prototype built, requires a little more testing. I'll ask kyle if we can show the video online of the device booting/running/testing.

Im ny opinion, 30G would be really good. Well, personally I don't need to upload and download everyting every day... so I would assume one first big transfer (first backup of my data) followed by daily little (around 100MB) transfers for every day incremental backup.
About using the storage as encrypted network drive... it would be awesome.. but I think that an FTP access would be just perfect (at least to begin with)... it is easy to make it secure and can be easily accessed with FireFTP (you could also make already configured FireFTP part of xbBrowser).

Wow, I wasn't aware of so many new proxies being available... when will they be available to the public? And will the user of XeroBank (not shadowVPN) be able to choose the server they prefer?

About cryptorouters, is there going to be a "simple" model, meaning something that just connects between my router and my internet connection so that all the traffic is routed through xerobank networks? How much could that be?

FireFTP... that will all depend. Normally FTP is an insecure protocol where everyone can see your username and password, and file transfers. To implement secure text terminal transfers you would need SFTP or SCP. I'm unsure if FireFTP supports those protocols. Another alternative is simply to use WinSCP and we could give you a "connection profile" file to use that automatically connects you to our servers. In my opinion, WebDAV using encryption would be the best, so your computer would see it like a local drive, and you could drag and drop files around, or play/import them on the fly without needing any 3rd party software.

Wow, I wasn't aware of so many new proxies being available...

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It is a secret.

when will they be available to the public? And will the user of XeroBank (not shadowVPN) be able to choose the server they prefer?

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XeroBank users will get full access to all of them. They will appear as new countries that the user can select from. Shadow should already be out, but I expect it shortly. The rest will follow suit quickly I should think. This is superior to just chaining proxies, naturally, as we have additional properties that drastically increase anonymity that a proxy chain just can't do. So it will be 1) easy for the user, 2) even greater security and freedom.

About cryptorouters, is there going to be a "simple" model, meaning something that just connects between my router and my internet connection so that all the traffic is routed through xerobank networks? How much could that be?

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YES. This is the cryptorouter mobile. This is what we finished the prototype of that suddenly our hardware supplier changed the hardware so it pushed us back a little. They are done, we're just waiting for cases and new controller drivers.

The cryptorouters for corporate are available for sale now. The cryptorouters for personal are having to be redesigned because gumstix has discontinued the dual NIC board. Luckily we may have a ready-to-go solution for that this month. So it could be as soon as Feb. The countries are going to have new ones opened up at regular intervals, probably once every one and a half months. ShadowVPN was the first of a new series of exit nodes. The next will be US, UK, CH, DE, RU, IR, CN, and a few more. They will be up and going pretty soon, now that we have the ShadowVPN design completed.

So does XeroBank work like TOR then? Can I use it for IRC and instant messaging too? I heard it only worked with Firefox 2?! Also I have a Ironkey already and I notice that using their secure sessions my IP address changes which logs me out of forums and the like quite frequently. Does this happen with XeroBank?

XeroBank is like tor in that it provides anonymity. It is unlike tor in that it is 1) broadband speed, 2) immune to malicious exit node injection or exit node snooping, 3) does not rely on 3rd party resource donation, 4) it protects all your traffic, not just web, 5) XeroBank uses advanced anonymity techniques like channel multiplexing and cascade splitting, and does not rely on onion routing.

It will work with potentially all your programs, on any operating system, and gives you a fixed IP for the whole session. It is not limited to any browser, and you can have unlimited connections if you have an account, meaning you can protect your home, work, school, family, travel computer at the same time.